Back to news
Ronan Maher insists Tipperary ‘have no issue’ with hurling league final vs Cork at Pairc Ui Chaoimh after rapid sell-out
@Source: thesun.ie
TIPPERARY skipper Ronan Maher insists the Premier have no objection to being sent into enemy territory in search of the county’s first National Hurling League title in 17 years.
Cork will have home advantage for Sunday week’s final, which is fixed for Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
With tickets selling out less than 24 hours after being put on sale, the Rebels are set to have huge support for the first league decider involving the Munster rivals since 1960.
Tipp are now set to face Cork on Leeside twice in three weeks as the side also meet there in the Munster SHC.
Maher said: “It would be great to play in a league final in Semple Stadium as well but that’s obviously not happening.
“But it’ll be great preparation for the Munster Championship.
“We played there two years ago and the place was rocking. It’s a great stadium and I think it’s a sell-out already, so there’ll be a great crowd.
“It’s perfect preparation for the Munster Championship, which is only three or four weeks away.”
Tipp are scheduled to begin their provincial round-robin campaign at home to Limerick on April 20, before heading south to face Cork again seven days later.
Asked if they were consulted about the choice of venue for the Division 1A final, Maher said: “I didn’t hear anything about it, to be honest with you. I’d heard rumours that it was going to be in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and that was about it.
“Listen, we have to go down there for the Munster Championship so it’s no difference to us really. It’s good preparation for that. We have no problem going down.”
The game will serve as the main event for an attractive double-header, with Waterford and Offaly set to play for the Division 1B title in the curtain raiser.
Déise boss Peter Queally feels their clash with the Faithful could have warranted its own billing at a venue such as UPMC Nowlan Park in Kilkenny.
But with his side also scheduled for an away game against Cork on May 25, Queally also sees the benefits in a dry run at the venue.
Speaking from his side’s training camp in Portugal, the Waterford gaffer said: “We were speculating beforehand what would happen — and with two Munster teams that it would possibly be a Munster venue.
“To be honest, I had it in my head that Tipp and Cork would sell out anyway — fanatical support for both.
“I would have thought the obvious thing to do, even from a financial point of view on the GAA’s behalf, would be to have a standalone game.
“If you brought Waterford and Offaly to Nowlan Park, you might not sell it out but you’d get a nice size crowd and a good atmosphere on a Saturday evening.
“It is what it is. We look at the positives. We’re playing Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in our last Munster SHC game, so a game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh — which is a bit of a cauldron, a hard place to go for any team — that’s the plus side for us.”
Related News
02 Apr, 2025
'Trade war is in nobody's interests,' sa . . .
09 May, 2025
Big innings spur Western baseball sweep . . .
28 Apr, 2025
Macleans College 1st XV topples Aussie r . . .
26 Mar, 2025
Desmond Mathew wins STI’s eighth Open Go . . .
08 May, 2025
Marnus Labuschagne to return to Glamorga . . .
05 Apr, 2025
Patrick Reed up by two at LIV Golf Miami
21 Mar, 2025
2025 Nissan Rogue AWD SV Moonroof
03 May, 2025
Plane makes emergency landing at Riviera . . .